Gaming machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing machines and the expectation of winning at each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are likely to be attracted to the most entertaining and exciting machines. Shrewd operators consequently strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines, features, and enhancements available because such machines attract frequent play and hence increase profitability to the operator. Therefore, there is a continuing need for gaming machine manufacturers to continuously develop new games and improved gaming enhancements that will attract frequent play through enhanced entertainment value to the player.
One problem that arises with traditional games is that an inherent predictability of the frequency and display of bonus or secondary awards occurs after repeated play of the wagering game. Another problem that occurs is that the amounts of bonus or secondary awards provided for certain bonus events triggered is fixed, causing the presentation of such awards to become repetitive and less exciting. Yet another problem with such traditional systems is that player's anticipation and excitement related to achieving bonus awards dissipates over repeated play of a wagering game, causing the game play experience to be less rewarding and thus, the game to be less desirable relative to other available wagering games. The present invention is directed to solving these and other problems.